When pride still matters

Chapter 251 I stand with Sprewell

In order to avoid more unpredictable variables, the last four minutes of the Bucks' game against the Pistons were canceled.

The league decided to use the final score as the result of the game.

The final result was that the Pistons lost to the Bucks at home with a 23-point gap.

However, the result of the game is no longer important.

The brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, with Sprewell rushing into the auditorium and choking fans, spread like a virus around the world in less than an hour.

It was reminiscent of the punch that landed Rudy Tomjanovich in the face in 1978, the first time the NBA was in the mainstream spotlight, albeit in a negative way. Then, Magic contracted HIV in 1991, and the NBA once again swept the country with scandal. Then came Jordan's announcement of retirement in 1993. Although it was not a scandal, it only told the mainstream media that Jordan had retired and the NBA was no longer as worthy of attention as it had been in the past. Then came the lockout in 1999 and the Eagle County incident in the summer of 2003.

You can see that every time the NBA comes into the mainstream spotlight, there is usually a terrible scandal.

And this time the scandal is happening in the Internet era, and its influence will be far greater than in the past.

In the video of less than ten minutes, people will see the real man battle between Sprewell and Big Ben. Horry ends Hamilton like Hogan, and Yu Fei first helps Sprewell beat Big Ben. Ben, then fist-bumped with Prince (this part has been changed from the previous chapter). Haslem tried to help but was stopped by "reason incarnate" Rasheed Wallace, and then the conflict subsided. Until a glass of Coke with ice cubes hit Sprewell on the head.

Sprewell, like a tiger among sheep, rushed into the audience and choked a man.

Then, Horry and Haslem realized that the situation was out of control, and tried to control them in the past, but there was more than one Detroiter who liked to be mean. For some reason, Haslem and Horry were beaten in the crowd, and then they Entered the "I'm going to kill you" mode.

The most incredible thing about the whole process is Ray Allen.

It can be said that the fight started because of him.

Sprewell fought Ben Wallace because of him, and then this series of crazy things happened.

And Ray Allen did nothing after discovering the brawl.

He didn't help, break up the fight, or participate in the fight. He just stood there and watched like an outsider until the situation subsided.

Finally, security came in, pulled people away, and the game ended early, with Bucks players running through the tunnel under various throws from Detroiters.

Ray Allen was the last man to run through the tunnel.

He wanted to keep up with the team, but found that he was drifting away from everyone.

"Sprewell, you shouldn't do anything." When Ray Allen caught up with the large army, he said to Sprewell, "You are going to be in big trouble!"

Sprewell was like hearing the most ridiculous joke: "I'm in big trouble? Do you need me to tell you this? It's you! What did you just do? Who do you think I am in trouble for? I am For whom? Tell me, who am I doing this for?!"

It is the consensus within the Bucks that Ray Allen does not fight.

Karl almost traded him for this, and then everyone reached a settlement after a heart-to-heart talk in the locker room.

But a few years later, things have changed.

Sprewell is deeply involved in contract renewal issues. He certainly knows to control himself and not take action. Any scandal will bring difficulties to his contract renewal.

However, it is impossible for him to remain indifferent when he sees his teammates being bullied. Every season, he spends more time with his teammates than with his family. When encountering this kind of thing, he must stand up. This has been his philosophy of survival on the court since he was a child.

Everyone but Ray Allen did.

The problem is that the person least qualified to stay out of the matter is Ray Allen, who chooses to stay out of it.

Ray Allen's choice to sit on the sidelines certainly gave him temporary peace, but he will be accompanied by long-term uneasiness and the disunity of his teammates.

Yu Fei sat silently in the dressing room.

Sprewell choked a fan in public. To the league, they were the bread and butter of the fans, and no amount of punishment was too severe.

Not to mention that Horry and Haslem tried to persuade them to intervene, so they would also be severely punished.

As for Ray Allen, Yu Fei didn't know whether to admire this guy's calmness or despise this guy's cowardice.

How did he hold it back?

Even if you pretend to be trying to break up the fight, it's better than standing still.

Now that it's like this, Yu Fei doesn't know how he will face other teammates in the future.

That night, Yu Fei returned to the hotel and met Karl.

"Fry, I told you," Carl said, "that's the kind of guy Ray is."

Yu Fei said flatly: "I don't blame him."

This was an answer Karl didn't expect.

The aftermath of this brawl is enough to tear the Bucks apart. Now, let alone their pursuit of three consecutive championships, they will be successful if they can slow down next season.

Sprewell will definitely be severely punished, and Horry and Haslem will also not escape heavy punishment. Ray Allen has lost the respect and support of his teammates. He is in a contract year and will either be traded or test the waters next summer. In the free market, he will definitely not stay.

Carr really isn't sure if Fly has a future in Milwaukee.

"We all know that he is this kind of person, and Spree also knows it." Yu Fei said, "He will not do anything for us on the court. This is something we have all agreed on. Now he just does what we all know he will Things to do."

Karl smiled bitterly and said, "You are calmer than I thought."

"No, I'm not calm at all." Yu Fei said, "I want to kill everyone on the Pistons, but I can only think about this kind of thing."

Then, Yu Fei left.

Karl looked at Yu Fei's back in trance. For a long time, he shook his head.

Three consecutive championships. For him, it may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it was taken away because of a terrible farce.

Yu Fei is too young. In the past three years, he has won everything a player can win, so naturally he will not be as unwilling and painful as Karl.

Karl believes that Yu Fei will still have a chance to win three consecutive championships in the future, but what about himself?

The next day, the media gave a variety of comments to last night's Auburn Hills Brawl.

Both parties involved also spoke out in interviews to defend themselves.

Yu Fei said something for Sprewell: "If I were sitting alone and someone smashed a Coke with ice cubes on my head from behind, I think I would do the same thing."

Sprewell said he was acting in self-defense.

"Nobody hurts somebody at the end of a game, so something special must have happened last night," Larry Brown said.

"If you watched the game, you knew who was holding back the anger. It was Detroit that really started the fight, but now Sprewell's picture is the only one on the headlines around the world. It's really unfair!" Carr took a direct shot at the Pistons, but it didn't help.

No words are as impactful as the photo of Sprewell choking a fan.

At 10 a.m., the league announced its decision on how to handle the Auburn Hills Brawl.

Latrell Sprewell was suspended for one year and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.

Robert Horry was suspended 30 games and was also charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.

Udonis Haslem suspended 30 games, same charges. Christian Laettner took advantage of the chaos to attack Billups and ran from the bench. He received an additional penalty and was suspended for 15 games.

Yu Fei was suspended for 8 games.

For the Pistons, Ben Wallace was suspended for 8 games, Chauncey Billups was suspended for 5 games, Tayshaun Prince was suspended for 3 games, Eldon Campbell and Derek Coleman each Suspended for 1 game.

The fan who threw Coke at Sprewell was permanently banned from attending games at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

When the league announced its decision, a reporter asked the spokesman: "Is Ray Allen not guilty of provoking a world war?"

"He didn't do anything," the spokesman said. "Penalty decisions are only made on those who do something."

Many Bucks players will be taking some time off.

Although involuntary.

The league hopes to minimize the impact of the situation, but with the participation of stars like Yu Fei, this incident is destined to be deeply remembered.

A few days later, the world ushered in the last month of 2004.

The Bucks once again gave Yu Fei an early contract extension.

They believe that in this special period, a non-watered maximum salary extension contract can make Da Fei grateful.

But after Yu Fei got the contract, his first question was: "Did Spree renew his contract?"

Harris' expression changed slightly and he said, "No, Frye, Spree's career is over."

"What do you mean?" Yu Fei asked, "Explain it."

".It's over. For a veteran like him, if he doesn't play for a year, only God knows his competitive state next year. Even if he wants to come back, no team will be willing to sign him. What he did at the Palace of Auburn Hills It just proves that he has never changed."

"You mean, if you watch your teammate being bullied on the court, you won't stand up for him?" Yu Fei asked coldly, "You mean, if someone hits you with something from behind? , you can’t defend yourself?”

"Fry, these are two different things."

"Then I'll tell you what it means."

Yu Fei said in a simple, rough and direct way: "I will renew my contract only if Spree renews his contract. If you doubt my determination on this matter, then we can wait and see, I will not sign By renewing my contract, I can sign a qualifying offer next summer and then leave. Of course, you can also trade him, and then you can trade me, so that the loss can be minimized."

"Fry, things are far from this!"

"If Spray can't play here next year, that's where it ends for me."

Yu Fei looked at little Harris without wavering.

"If you can't give a decent pension to a guy who can stand up for his teammates at all times, I don't know what else is worth playing for."

As a result, the Bucks finally knew how determined Yu Fei was to keep Sprewell.

But this is not something Harris can decide.

"I will tell the boss about it and he will make a decision when the time comes."

"I can wait."

The second contract extension negotiation between Yu Fei and the Bucks has ended.

This incident has a great impact on people in the Fei camp.

They thought Yu Fei would cut him off after Sprewell caused such a scandal, but they didn't expect Da Fei to stand firmly with the madman.

Lawson said it was a sign of loyalty.

Instead, Tim Grover had some extra thoughts.

When he was alone with Yu Fei, he spoke: "Fry, do you know Charles Oakley?"

Yu Fei asked: "Why did you suddenly mention him?"

"When the Bulls traded Oak, MJ strongly opposed it, but he couldn't stop the trade from happening," Grover said. "That was the beginning of the bad blood between him and Jerry Krause."

Yu Fei didn't know why he suddenly mentioned this matter.

"The reason why MJ is angry is not because he lost Oak, but because his words no longer work with the management." Grover smiled, "You support Spree so much because you want to test whether what you said works. , or is it really for the so-called loyalty?"

Yu Fei was silent for a while.

Lawson came back with some food in his hand.

"Is this important?" Yu Fei said, "No matter what, I will let Spree sign a pension contract. As long as this happens, it will be enough."

Grover watched Yu Fei take a chicken sandwich from Lawson and no longer cared about what just happened.

This reminded him of Yu Fei's various performances when he was with the Wizards.

It's hard to tell whether Yu Fei and Jordan are incompatible with each other because he can't understand Jordan's style, or because they are opposite to each other.

At least one thing is for sure, Jordan ultimately left an indelible mark on the young man.

The powerful wizard Jordan made Yu Fei see what kind of power a player can have.

That was the example Jordan left behind.

But looking back on Jordan during the Bulls period, his right to speak is actually far less than Yu Fei now.

He couldn't keep Oakley and he couldn't decide who would be selected in the draft.

If Jordan only had a bad relationship with Krause because of Oakley, could Yu Fei really risk his reputation and future for Sprewell?

The answer is clear.

Grover believed that Yu Fei would not do that, but why did he believe that the Bucks would do what he wanted?

It's interesting that Grover chose to continue to wait and see, perhaps making up for the gap he had before becoming Jordan's trainer.

Then, the Bucks faced a difficult period.

Although Yu Fei was only suspended for eight games, Sprewell, Horry and others were also suspended for long periods of time, and the Bucks were severely damaged.

As the temporary absolute core of the team, another problem faced by Ray Allen is that no one regards him as the core.

He was isolated.

(End of this chapter)